Centers offer help for returning vets

Last year, on Veterans Day, Gov. Rick Perry announced a $5 million investment in to enhance behavioral health services to veterans across the state. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, there are more than 230,000 Texans on active duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. Community MHMR Centers, like the Betty Hardwick Center, were called upon to develop new services to the many returning veterans who call Texas home.

The National Institute for Mental Health offers that 70 percent of service personnel returning from OEF/OIF with PTSD will not seek treatment from the Department of Defense or Veterans Affairs. However, the mental health needs are significant. A recent RAND Corporation study titled "Invisible Wounds: Mental Health and Cognitive Care Needs of America's Returning Veterans" found that an estimated one out of five of all service members and veterans returning from OIF/OEF, or 18.5 percent, suffer from PTSD or some form of major depression. SAMHSA and the National Institute for Drug Abuse have repeatedly concluded that PTSD and depression are both risk factors for substance abuse, and in some cases, suicide. Returning veterans with mental health and substance abuse problems may run into problems in other areas of their lives such as homelessness and unemployment, or worse, crime or suicide. One-third of the nation's homeless individuals are veterans. In 2008, USA Today reported from 15 to 20 percent of all soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan show signs of depression or post-traumatic stress disorder, based on study of almost 2,300 soldiers finished last fall. That rate jumps to about 30 percent for soldiers who have been on three or four combat deployments.

State funds allocated this past year have allowed the Betty Hardwick Center to partner with 211 Texas A Call for Help. Each month a military call specialist is assisting numerous veterans in locating help with a wide range of needs including employment assistance, and basic needs referrals for things like housing, food, utilities and gasoline. If you are a veteran, or a family member of a veteran in need of information or assistance, you can dial 211 in order to find out about local resources available.

We have also been able to link local veterans to top notch training so that they are qualified to lead peer support groups. These groups are now meeting in the following locations:

• "In the Zone" Peer Support Group — last Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m., VIP Center, 508 E. Gould St., Stamford.

Additionally, family members of veterans, who've experienced themselves the challenges of deployment, have also been trained to provide Family Support Groups. Two groups are currently meeting in Jones County:

Veteran and family volunteers are still needed in Callahan County, Shackelford County, Stephens County and Taylor County. If you are interested in learning more about the groups or if you'd like to become a Veteran/Family Peer volunteer, please contact Melissa Favia at mfavia@bhcmhmr.org or 325-690-5236.